A Second Chance
by My Divinest
Summary: What if Mary found a solution to the problem? Would Will and Lyra go for it? (updated sorry if the chapter 6 format is a bit messed up.)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer- I am a big enough person to admit that Mr. Pullman is a literary genius, and that I own nothing except for Kevin. Let's give him a hand shall we? As for me...I'm going to join my pity party.

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Lyra couldn't have looked more beautiful. Of course that was typical of brides on their wedding day, but she was exceptionally beautiful. Her darkish blond hair was pulled up on top of her head with a few strands left down, artfully framing her thin face. Her big pale blue eyes sparkled out from behind thick lashes. She looked amazing and knew it.

And yet...Lyra sighed and turned away from the mirror. Why was it that she couldn't stop thinking of Will?

She knew from the moment they'd parted worlds that she'd end up getting married. Since they'd parted world's...dear God had it only been 12 years? To Lyra it seemed like an eternity.

Every year on Midsummer's day, she went to the bench with Pan. They could feel Will and Kirjava with them, even if they couldn't see them. The last Midsummer's day had been about a month ago. She'd gone, as always and stayed there sitting on the bench with her knees tucked to her chest all day. Kevin ended up having to come and remind her that they were having dinner with his parents that night.

Ah, Kevin. What'd first attracted her to him was the fact that he looked like Will and acted like Will. But she knew the relationship would never be life long, because he wasn't Will.

Lyra sank down in a chair and put her head in her hands. She'd spent the better part of the week before Midsummer's trying to write Will the perfect letter to tell him that she was getting married. Her apartment, just blocks away from Jordan College, was crumpled with pieces of paper indicating her attempts. Finally on Midsummer's morning, she had her letter ready and headed to The Bench.

She sat down and immediately felt at home. She knew there was only one place she belonged and there she was. She put her letter on the inside armrest of the bench, held there with tape. She sat there with Pan for the rest of the day.

Now she was left wondering. She'd returned to the bench the next day and was stunned to find her letter gone. She was left to wonder if someone had taken it, or if Will had found someway to receive it.

This thought raised many questions. If he'd found someway to get the letter, would he find a way to stop the wedding? Did he even want to? Did he still love her?

And the most important question, Lyra knew, was she doing the right thing?

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Well, it's not long. But I promise it'll get longer. It's different than my School of Rock fan fiction, but I hope that if you haven't read the books that you go out and read them!

Now that that's out of the way....press that little blue-ish purple-ish button there that says GO, and..........................REVIEW!!!!

Later guys.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- again. I own nothing. Do you people want me to feel bad? Alright, I admit that Phillip Pullman is a literary genius. It's a pity fest. Come join me.

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Will sat in his small studio apartment, reading and re-reading the piece of paper clenched in his hand. _It won't change_, he told himself as he re-read it again. 

_Dearest Will,_

_It has been a long time, hasn't it? I go to the bench every year and I know you do as well because I feel you and Kirjava there with Pan and I. That is why I hope you'll receive this letter somehow, because we're connected. _

_Well my darling I find that there is no easy way to say this. Believe me I know. But I am going to try._

_I've met someone. His name is Kevin. A few months ago, he proposed to me and I accepted. Do you understand Will? I am getting married._

_I want you to know that I was unable to keep my promise to you. In the back of my mind, I am always comparing him to you and he always turns out looking worse. _

_Oh Will, I don't know what to do. I want to be happy and maybe I could be happy with him. But I am not so sure. _

_I know I could be happy with you. Life would be perfect if only I could be with you._

_But I have to resign myself to the fact that being with you is impossible. So it looks as if I must marry Kevin and settle for a life of some happiness instead of the wonderful life I envision with you. _

_So, until next time,_

_Your beloved always,_

_Lyra_

Will crumpled up the paper in his fist. He had no idea how he'd gotten hold of it. It'd suddenly appeared on the bench and he'd just known it was for him.

He sighed. Lyra was getting married. His Lyra. Married. His Lyra was getting married. He frowned. She wasn't his Lyra anymore. He looked back at the crumpled letter. She was...Kevin's Lyra. Kirjava frowned up at him, shaking her head.

"What?" Will asked irritably. "Don't look at me like that."

"You must stop tormenting yourself." She said.

"I'm not tormenting myself." He muttered. "Lyra is getting married. My Lyra is getting married."

Kirjava did not respond. The silence allowed Will to sink back into his thoughts, recalling something Mary Malone had told him a week ago.

_"If there was a way for you to be with Lyra, would you do it?"_ she'd asked him. He'd immediately said yes. He remembered the mischievous smile on her face. There was something she wasn't telling him. Grabbing his coat, he left, determined to find out what it was.

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Ok, short again...I know! Don't kill me...but I'm working on it, and my next chapter will definitely be longer. 

Enjoy, read, and review.

Bye guys.

Amy


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I own nothing except Kevin. The rest is all Mr. Pullman. Let's give him a round of applause for being a literary genius, shall we?

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Lyra stood at the back of the church with her head held high, preparing to walk down the aisle. Pan was up at the altar already along with Kevin and his daemon. They were all waiting for her. She took a deep breath and began the trek to the front of the church, just as she'd rehearsed it, at least a thousand times. 

As he walked, facing straight ahead, staring at Kevin, her mind began racing. Did Will get her letter? Did he know? Was he angry? Upset, mad relieved?

Lyra hated this. She hated not knowing how Will thought about what she was about to do. She hated not being able to see him one last time. Could she really go through with this? Marry a man when her heart truly belonged to another?

After a total of 37 steps, as rehearsed, she reached the altar.

"Do you, Kevin Alkamasbere take Lyra Silvertongue to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked.

"I do." Kevin said, smiling at Lyra.

"And do Lyra Silvertongue take Kevin Alkamasbere to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Kevin and the priest looked at her expectantly. Suddenly she felt that all eyes were on her. And the horrible part was that they really were. After spending so much time blending in during her time in Will's world, it had become part of her to just blend in. This went against her nature and Will would have known it.

Then suddenly something changed. No, not in Lyra herself for that would be a cliché. Something in the atmosphere had changed. Something had arrived.

Wordlessly she looked at Kevin, imploring him to understand. He looked away and she looked at the floor, instantly making her decision.

She walked back down the aisle, not once looking back.

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She didn't know how she knew where she was going. Something was guiding her, but it wasn't logic.

Lyra was risking everything for a mere wish. She hoped that if she was wrong, she could go back to Kevin and he'd understand.

But she wouldn't have to worry about that. She'd arrived at the bench of Jordan College. From what she could see, life was about to get interesting.

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Well, next chapter'll be up later today because I have it typed. Enjoy and review!!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- I own nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Let's give Mr. Pullman a hand. WAIT! I OWN KEVIN...AND MARY'S THEORY IN THIS CHAPTER!! Let's give me a hand!!!!!!

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Before Will stood Lyra. She was wearing a wedding dress and she looked positively heavenly. He'd apparently arrived not a moment to soon.

"Lyra. Hi." He said, and then internally winced. How pathetic that must sound after twelve years.

"Hello Will."

"I, um, got your letter." She opened her mouth, but her cut her off anticipating what her question would be. "Don't ask me how, but it was just there when Kirjava and I were at the bench."

"Oh Will! I knew you'd get it! We're connected. But-" she stared at him, shocked. "But how can you be here? Will isn't it hurting you? You and Kirjava?" she added, seeing the daemon come out from behind Will.

He smiled broadly. "No."

"But how?" she asked. Pan playfully pounced on Kirjava and the two began to mock wrestle.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"Mary? Mary are you there? Mary!" Will yelled, pounding on her apartment door and eliciting strange looks from passer-byers.

"Will? What are you doing here?" Mary asked when she finally opened the door.

"Last week you asked me if there was a way to be with Lyra if I'd do it. Why'd you ask me that?" he asked anxiously. Mary motioned for him to come in. He took a seat at the kitchen table and Mary sat across from him.

"Will," she began, placing her hands on the table, and then taking them off again. "Will the only thing keeping you from Lyra was the fact that you would weaken and die in her world. Your father told you that." Mary paused, allowing his heart to ache for a moment. John Parry had been killed by a witch, Juta Kamainen right before Will's very eyes. He brushed aside his sadness and nodded for Mary to continue. "Well, for the past few years I've been working to find out what was different about our world and Lyra's. I've finally figured out what it was."

"So what is it?" he asked testily.

"I haven't tested my theory. I don't know if it works or even if it's safe." She warned.

"I don't care." He replied hotly.

"It hasn't been tested yet Will!" she repeated.

"Test it on me!"

"Will..."

"Mary...please! I have to see Lyra. She's getting married. Please Mary, let me try this!" he pleaded.

"Alright Will." She sighed. "Daemons are very important in Lyra's world. They are basically a representation of the soul...an extension of the average being. The first reason you would weaken was because you wouldn't have had that part. But you have overcome that." Will smiled thinking of Kirjava. "The second obstacle would be the chemical I have discovered."

"Chemical?" Will asked.

"Yes." She replied. "A chemical. It is what causes you to have the extension of the soul, or the daemon. It's called proglasterine. I've been working to duplicate this chemical and I have succeeded. If you are willing I will test it on you."

"Willing? God Mary am I ever!" he exclaimed. What do I have to do?"

"I'm going to inject the proglasterine into your blood through a needle. Your blood will then carry the chemical throughout your body and hopefully your brain will recognize this and make use of it. Will I'm going to need you to be strong because you're going to have to be in Lyra's world for a few months. Serafina Pekkala, who is able to go between worlds, will report to me on your progress."

"Hello Will."

He jumped. Little had he known that Mary Malone had asked Serafina Pekkala to be in the room, though invisible, to gauge Will's genuine interest.

"I believe that this is a worthwhile risk, sister." Serafina said. "If this works, think of all the good they do separately. Just imagine the possibilities of what they can do together, how many more people they can educated on the real purpose of the dust."

Will was still surprised to see the witch there, but she spoke so warmly on his behalf that he was grateful she was there. "Thank you," he said. Serafina nodded in his direction as acknowledgement.

Mary sighed deeply. "Alright Will. We'll do it." She led him over to a chair by her lab equipment and instructed him to lay his arm on the armrest elbow down and make a fist. "After I give you this, Serafina Pekkala will take you to Lyra immediately. You will feel sore for a few days, as a side affect. You may have headaches, and feel nauseous as well. You will need to get a lot of sun, and vitamin C and D." Will nodded, and Mary injected the chemical. He winced, but recovered quickly. He bid Mary good day and took off in the air with Serafina Pekkala, stopping only to get Kirjava.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"Oh Will you can't do this, you could die!" Lyra exclaimed after Will had told his story.

"But wouldn't you rather try Mary's idea?" he asked. "If you want me to leave so you could get back to your..." he gestured to her wedding dress. "I will. I can contact Serafina Pekkala." He said, pulling out a small pine spray.

"You mean she's here?" Lyra looked around, excited, but Will shook his head.

"No but she gave me her pine spray so I could locate her and her me."

Lyra was silent. Pan and Kirjava had separated and were standing between Will and Lyra. He started at her and she stared back at him. Then it dawned on her just how much she had missed him. She crossed the short space between them and threw her arms around his neck. She smiled, feeling him hesitate for a moment, then wrap his strong arms around her waist.

She felt really good for the first time in a long time.

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Ok, I'm not sure about the theory, or how much of it was true. But for my own story I made it up. Read and review!

bye guys,

Scof


	5. Chapter 5

Wow. Yeah...I haven't updated in a while. I don't really have an excuse, I've just been lazy. You'll forgive me won't you?

So, Noelle Lugan called me a literary genius in her review. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me in my whole, entire life. So thank you so much, this chapter is dedicated to you.

The disclaimer is the same...do you REALLY want me to type it all over again? No? Good. Thank you.

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"Then, after I went to college, I became a psychiatrist. I'm trying to help people work out their problems, and learn how to do it without any help. I want them to be able to help themselves and the rest of the world. It's amazing how much good a single person can do, so when you multiply that by a lot...think of how much good that is." Will was saying as he sat next to Lyra in the grass. He looked at her, and laughed to himself. "Ok, so I've been talking a lot now. What's been up with you?"

Lyra blushed crimson. "Well...I finished college."

"What'd you major in?" Will asked, prompting her. She muttered something under her breath. "What?"

"Writing." She said.

Will smiled brilliantly and she blushed more. "Wow! Did you write anything?"

She nodded. "I wrote about you...and me...and Mary...and the dust. They wouldn't let me sell is as my autobiography, or as non fiction. They said that no one would buy it then. So I had to sell it as fiction. But I hope that someone will think hard enough and decide that it's not. That it's true, and it's happened, and it's still happening though lessened. And then they'll decide to learn more about it. They'll become educated and they're eyes will open to the facts that are going on around them."

Lyra spoke about her craft with such a passion that Will was amazed. He drank up the sound of her voice, and the sight of her beautiful eyes sparkling as she spoke. He couldn't believe that he was sitting next to her...and that it was real.

"Will? Will are you even paying attention?" Lyra was asking as she waved her hand back and forth in front of his face.

"Yeah, I am. Kind of." She glared at him. "Did I mention that you look very, very nice?"

Her face softened, and she smiled. "No, thank you." She looked down and then did a double take. "Oh no," she whispered.

"What?" he asked concerned.

"I have to go." She said, getting up and walking off as fast as her heels would let her.

"Wait, why? What's wrong? I thought..." he must have sounded pitiful because she turned around and walked back to him.

"Will...I have things to take care of if we're going to make something out of this. You have to let me take care of them. Ok?" she said, putting her hand on his cheek.

He looked at her in the wedding dress. He wanted her to wear that for him. He wanted to see her walk towards him in that dress...ok maybe in a different one since this was meant for_ Kevin_...but he wanted it. Just like in the movies.

"Alright. Fine. But..." she cut him off.

"I'll find you later." She said before turning to walk away. She hurried off towards the direction of the church, where she knew Kevin would be. She only hoped that she could explain this well enough, so that he'd understand.

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Alright...yes...short...I know. But the next chapter is going to be a longer one and I didn't want to have to combine them. So review and I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I get...hm...5 reviews.

Later guys...

Amy


	6. Chapter 6

Wow. Guys. Hi. Yeah. You guys must absolutely hate me. So I guess I should start off by totally apologizing for blowing this off. I realize that I haven't updated in about forever, but I lost my notebook. I had it at school, in the gym locker room and then I came back and it was gone. Who in their right mind would steal a fan fiction notebook…I have no idea.

By the way guys…has anyone seen Ken Jennings commercial? The one for Cingular? Hehe. I love it.

So anyway, on with the story.

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Lyra entered the church as she had just hours before. Slowly and unsurely. She looked around. It seemed empty and ominous as her eyes slowly located Kevin seated in the first pew, praying. Picking up the hem of her dress she slowly walked down the aisle and sat down next to him. Startled, he looked up.

"Lyra!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?" he asked enveloping her in a hug. She closed her eyes and a small smile crept across her face unconsciously.

"I…had some things to take care of," she replied as he let her go.

"Well, now you're back! I've talked to the owner of the church, and he said that he has a slot that we could use a little later on. Of course it will cost us money since we didn't use the one we had for today, but I talked to my father and he said that he'd deal with that, he just wants us to be happy. And I talked to the caterers and the florists and they said that-"

Lyra just listened as he talked…babbled. He'd taken care of everything. He always did. He always knew exactly what she needed and when she needed it. He knew when she was in one of her moods, and he knew what she did every year and why she needed to do it. He understood and that was why she loved him.

She shook her head slightly and tuned into what he was saying. "Kevin stop," she replied. "I don't…I don't know if I'm quite ready to marry you now. I-"

Kevin looked at her shocked. "What? But Lyra, just a few hours ago you and I were going to-"

"I know. Kev, I left to see someone. We were in the church and I was standing next to you all prepared to say I do. But, I felt something and I had to go. When I…when I got to the bench I saw what I knew I would." She'd seen his face tighten up when she mentioned the bench and she knew why. He knew what it represented for her and he knew what his competition was now.

"Lyra, I've been very patient with you," he began. "I've let you do your thing when you needed to do it. But you and I can be really happy if you would just let the past rest!"

"But Will isn't the past anymore Kevin. Will is here. He's in our world now. He somehow worked together with Mary and he found a way to get here."

The shock that registered on Kevin's face was undeniable, and huge. "He's here?" he asked quietly. Lyra nodded but didn't say a word. "Where is he?"

She looked at him confused. "He's settling into his hotel. He needs to accustom himself to it."

Kevin nodded, processing this information. "Ok. When will I meet him?"

Now it was Lyra's turn to be shocked. "Meet him? You want to meet him?"

"Lyra, I want you to be happy. I really think that you and I could be happy. You make me happy. You know that. I love you, I really do, but if you need time, then that's what I'm going to give you. I'm not an idiot, I know what I have. So I'm going to let you figure this out. But I don't want you to just disappear now. I want to keep talking to you."

Lyra looked at him. "Kev that's…that's…" She didn't know exactly what it was. Her heart grew with love for him that she was giving her what she needed, time. But she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with him meeting Will.

"I'm meeting him Lyra. Take it or we have nothing."

She studied his face. "Ok. You're on. I'll talk to him about it."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. Then he turned around and walked away leaving Lyra staring at the candles that flickered in an otherwise dim church.

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So. Yeah. The next chapter will be good. I promise! 


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